26 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Just wanted to know what happened to the band. they played a party I gave and three other girls on a farm in Farragut, (Knoxville) I met Maggie from the song Thank you Maggie from an old friend. Just curious where they all were. I digitized their first album and listen on my ipod now. It was a good recording, especially for the time.

This note comes from Dana Paul, one of the original members of RMT. While it has been over 30 years since Rich Mountain Tower played music throughout the Southeast, it's very gratifying that the band and its music are remembered on this site. Thank you for keeping our music out there. Regrettably, our lead guitar player,David Carr, and our drummer, Bob Tucillo, have passed away. Randy Haspel, Sandy Garrett, Doug Moisson and I are still around, though scattered across the Southeast. I've stayed in touch with Randy and Sandy but have lost touch with Red Buddy and hope that Lucille might let him know I send my best.

Hi Dana, and thanks a lot for your comment. I love the music and am about to post the "Playin' To The Radio" album. I'm a little confused as to when it was released. Most sites state it to be from 1978, though somewhere I read it would be from 1976. Listening to the record (again very good), I reckon 1976 would be more likely. Thanks again,Harley

The second Ovation album has an interesting history which may account for the question as to the release date. Ovation Records sat on the recorded tracks (most were recorded in a Chicago studio during several months that the band was living in the suburbs)for a couple of years before releasing "Can You Feel It?" I remember David [Carr] coming to my house sometime in 1978(I was no longer in the band by that point) and telling me the second Ovation album had been released. It was a complete surprise to me because we'd been given no advance notice. We think Ovation put the album together and released it as a tax write off. Still, I'm glad they released it and I'm knocked out that you've posted it because there are, to my way of thinking, some good songs on the album. Thanks, Harley.--Dana

The Playin' to the Radio Album, produced by Jesse Winchester and recorded in Montreal, Canada, was an independent release. Because we had no record company support at that point, it took a while to get the mastering, cover art, and pressing done. You're right, Harley, in that the release date was in 1976 rather than '78 if I remember, correctly. The second Ovation album, Can't You Feel It?, was actually released later per my previous note.--Dana

Thanks for the information Dana. People should come to this blog for detailed info on Rich mountain Tower. But this information generates a new question: when was the "Can't You Feel It" album, released in 1976 (that's what every site I found states) actually recorded? And are there any other recordings which were never released? Maybe some stuff on cassette stashed in your attic?

Hi, Harley. My memory isn't precise but I believe the sessions for the Can't You Feel It? album took place in the summer after the release of the first album. RMT went to Chicago to help promote the release and do some gigs in the mid west. Ovation Records bought us several weeks of studio time in the city while we were there. The second [Ovation] album was released so long after we had recorded the songs featured on it that I had given up on the idea of ever hearing them again. Yes, there are a couple of studio recordings we never released but I'll have to dig them up to see if the audio remains good enough to render them listenable. Thanks for asking!

Wow, first let me apologize for the time that has elapsed since last I posted. Regarding Sonny's question, Scott attended Maryville College with me starting in fall of1967. He transferred out in 1969 I believe. My memory is a little hazy but as I recall Scott played bass first in the Collection (the name of the band until Bob Tucillo and David Carr came up with RMT)and continued on in Rich Mountain Tower until he left in late 1969 or early 1970. My good friend Sandy Garrett replaced Scott as our bass player and continued as bass player/singer/songwriter with RMT from that point forward except for a brief hiatus during which time Sonny Pittman was our bass player. Sonny is pictured on the cover of the "Can You Feel It" album cover.--DP

Regarding Jerzy's question about David's middle name, I believe (again, my memory is a little hazy after all this time) it was Louis. For a while, David liked to go by the alternate stage name "Dwayne Carswell". This was during RMT"s cowboy period. At that time, David (aka "Dwayne") almost never appeared on stage without his white cowboy boots, which he kept meticulously clean regardless of the weather or the gig--DP

Nice to see the response from Dana Paul! I ripped the 3 RMT lps for Harley... and an so happy he was able to share it and in turn reach Dana Paul... I have enjoyed thise lps for over 20 years..... thanks Dana and RMT and Harley for such a great blog.... peace

This album is one of the most treasured items in my collection. As a Knoxville native and contemporary of the band's members, I feel a special interest in this quite unique music but moreso in the lives of the members of a band that first drew me into what has come to be known as 'country rock'. Knoxville certainly had and still has a fundemental place in C&W (viz. Johnny Cash, Flatt & Scruggs, Johnny Knoxville) but as the genre has developed over the years it seems clear RMT was ahead of it's time in instrumentation and content. AH, well, I could go on and on, but I especially want to mention the technical aspects of the first RMT album. Many readers today may not understand the implications of the dual reproduction capacity Ovation was able to infuse here. At the time RMT (1) was released the big splash in the audio world was "Quadraphonic" sound--precursor to today's surround sound--and Ovation wisely took the precaution of pressing RMT (1) in a medium compatible with both 2-channel stereo and "Quad" such that you could play this album on either format with no loss of sonic content. Believe me, to produce a vinyl record with both streams was an understated miracle of the time. So, if you own this record, by all means, clean it up and play it on a SOTA audio system and you will feel like you have heard it for the first time; it is an outstanding reproduction ! (There is one regretable and unfixable flaw this pressing abd that is the vinyl itself is very thin so it absolutely must be weighted down on the turntable in order to extract the best sound)

Hello. My name is Michael Fogarty and I was the main keyboard player with the band for the recording of the Quadraphonic album with Dick Schory--( Dana also played piano, but most of the songs were guitar driven at the time) former president of Ludwig drums. He started a label and we were to be the pioneers of Quadrophonic. We were living in a house in Maryville when not in Chicago. I remember playing a B3 specifically on I Got a Feeling--but never got to hear the final product but would be stoked if someome has an mp3 or wav of the product. I also really want to contact Dana as well as I was a mixed up young kid (right out of high school) when I joined the band and have always felt bad about my explanation for leaving. Bob and David RIP. They were the real item

Hello. My name is Michael Fogarty from Knoxville and I joined RMT as an organist/keyboard player for the recording of the I Got a Feeling Quadraphonic album with Dick Schory--( Dana also played piano, but most of the songs were guitar driven at the time) former president of Ludwig drums. He started a label and we were to be the pioneers of Quadrophonic. As Dana mentioned we spent the summer in Chicago recording the album. We were living in a house in Maryville when not in Chicago. I remember playing a B3 specifically on I Got a Feeling--but never got to hear the final product but would be stoked if someome has an mp3 or wav of the product. I also really want to contact Dana as well as I was a mixed up young kid (right out of high school) when I joined the band and have always felt bad about my explanation for leaving. Bob and David RIP. Would love to contact Butch McDade as well. Michael

I stumbled across RMT about a month ago while digging through the used section at my local record store here in okc. The cover caught my eye for no apparent reason and the store owner gave it a spin for me. We were both floored by the fact that neither of us had heard them before and that the album was as great as it was. A few days later after listening to the full album a couple times all the way through I jumped online to find some info about the band, possibly read some reviews, check out other releases, and try to download a digital format(ty for that btw). Apparently even in obscure music enthusiasts circles RMT is unknown. Just thought I'd make everyone a bit jealous by letting you guys know i picked up a promo copy that has a white label and does not have the red in the corner I see in all the album photos also says stamped on cover "disc jockey copy not for sale". Anyway the point in me posting other than sharing an appreciation to Dana for giving us some info on the band and making the music (TY!) I was wondering if anyone had their hands on any form of digital format for cant you feel it? I am waiting on my vinyl copy to come in the mail but would love to have it to listen in my car. ANY HELP? It would be much appreciated

Hello, I am also a huge RMT fan. I helped put together a concert back in 1972 at Morristown East High School with RMT as the lead band. AT that time, they also played Neil Young better than Neil Young (true). I liked all their original songs and have all their original albums. That concert was an experience of a lifetime I will never forget. I think RMT was one of the best bands ever to be on the planet. I wish they had lasted longer.

I was Bob Tucillo's next door neighbor and classmate from grade school through high school. I have the first album that was sold at a record store in Eastchester, NY - Bob's hometown. Does anyone know how and when Bob passed away?

The music posted on Skydog's Elysium is either out of print or very hard to obtain. You are encouraged to buy anything you like, if available at all. If you are the owner of music posted here and want it removed, send a message and I will comply.